Bar La Grassa

I have wanted to visit BLG for a while, so when our friends came to town I thought why not! We were a group of 10 and got seated in the private dining. The cozy, intimate feel of the room was a big plus! The servers were courteous - again, something I appreciate. Coming to the food, I have mixed feelings. The vegetarian fare was excellent - LOVED the gnocchi with orange and cauliflower, and the Mushroom ravioli. The meat entrees were a disappointment, though. Monkfish was not seasoned well, no flavor stood out, and a thicker broth would have served the dish better. The chicken entree was a tad better- seasoned well with a strong lime flavor but too dry. None of the entrees come with a side of bread, pasta, or salad - a real disappointment.
Nothing stood out in the dessert menu. We ended up  trying the crepes, which were nothing special either.

Bar La Grassa was super busy for a Monday night, which I took as a good sign! I definitely recommend making a reservation. The food lived up to the hype! The charred red onion and goat cheese bruschetta was delicious and balanced- tangy, sweet, and creamy with a great crunch. The focaccia was also really yummy. It was soft, with a nice olive oil and garlic flavor. The pasta was divine! I got the maltagliati with milk braised short rib and ricotta sugo. The fresh homemade maltagliati was perfectly al dente, the sauce was beautifully creamy, and the short rib was very tender. For dessert, I tried both the gjetost cheesecake and the tiramisu. They were both so good! The cheesecake was ultra creamy and the tangy apricot compote on top complemented it well. The tiramisu was soft, with lots of creamy mascarpone and plenty of coffee soaked into the sponge cake. I enjoyed every part of the meal!

Service was also great and attentive! The restaurant has simple, clean and classic decor.

From the ambiance to the food, BLG provided an epic experience. Reservations are HARD to find unless you really plan ahead and now I know why!

Started off with an espresso martini of which the froth was perfection. Had ourselves a bruschetta which was delightfully flavorful. Our pasta dishes were incredible: the dish with lamb sausage was surprisingly spicy. BLG's red chili flakes are no joke!! My partner (who has a higher tolerance for spice) described it as the perfect amount of spicy. The meatball was a must have - their tomato sauce was very fresh.

In all honesty, I would suggest passing up the dessert as it was nothing special. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and made recommendations that we were happy with.

* parking is street or in the nearby ramp
* doors will not be open until 5:00 pm exactly
* $$$$$
* portions large enough for leftovers

This restaurant is kind of perfect.

At least for me.

Obviously the appeal is great food. And they have a lot of great food, including the single-best gnocchi dish I've ever eaten.

But the atmosphere is also great. The wait staff is attentive. And, personally, I like that it's not stuffy.  It's a bit loud, I suppose, but the fact that you can have a first class dining experience without feeling the need the get dressed up is a huge plus to me.

Such an amazing place-have been dying to try this place for so long!! Went with my boyfriend and we each had a drink, appetizer; pasta and dessert!! The drinks were creative-I had a pineapple one and my boyfriend had a classic aperol spritz! Our apps were awesome-got prosciutto and bruschetta!! The bruschetta with ricotta was our fave dish there. We each had a pasta with pork as the meat-it was so insanely fresh. The dessert was to die for-the caramel was a homemade salty caramel!! The service was so prompt and quick for such a fancy place! Food was out within 5-8 minutes after ordering. The place was dimly lit and romantic, and a great date spot!

Oh. My. God. Ok...I've heard good things about this place but I had to try it to believe it. I am a pasta snob...I mean I love all pasta but my standard for jaw-on-the-floor pasta is pretty high. I'd heard that Bar La Grassa was that kind of place, so I gave it a shot.

First things first...this place is BOOKED. If you want to go, you better plan in ADVANCE because I seriously struggled to find a reservation time to get in.

I read through a million reviews before coming here so I could be sure I ordered the right thing. I also had Jason Eats' (that MN Instagram foodie) recommendation in the back of my mind. Both Yelp and Jason said that the orange cauliflower gnocchi was the move. I honestly felt somewhat dubious by this since orange in a pasta sounded weird to me, but I trusted the people and OH MY GOD. This pasta. People. ORDER IT. Stop reading and order it. The gnocchi...the sauce...I haven't stopped thinking about it since. I really don't know how to describe it except as incredible. This is 100% a must order menu item. Go to Bar and just get this and it'll be enough. Chefs kiss. Perfection.

We also ordered their insalata which was fantastic as well. Whatever dressing they use for it is just PERFECT.

Amazing and very romantic atmosphere! All the dishes are portioned to share or to take home for leftovers and heats up very well! The staff is very knowledgeable and the person who gave us our food recited a poem about each dish which was quite entertaining! I highly recommend the steak, mushrooms and the Charred Red onion with goat cheese bruschetta, however everything is amazing

Loved the food, I had the pasta Nara and my boyfriend had the gnocchi. Definitely one of the finer Italian restaurants I've been to in the twin cities. Would definitely recommend!

Unreal... celebrating a friend shutting down a company account and moving towards retirement brought us to BLG and wow!!!  I didn't totally know what to expect because some of the north loop places haven't lived up to the hype, no chance of that here, it's tremendous.

We started with the soft eggs and lobster and pork shoulder bruschetta and then moved onto entrees of cauliflower gnocchi with orange, the maltiagliari with braised short rib and the mushroom talleggio agnolotti.

Paired with a 2016 Nebbiolo and wrapping it up with crepes with vanilla ice cream for dessert it was heavenly.  Top 2 Italian in the cities.... Come check it out

We had THE BEST dinner at Bar la Grassa. Went on a Wednesday and had reservations at the pasta bar - and thank god we had reservations! It was a packed house.

Inside is a bustling upscale casual restaurant - I wouldn't come in athletic clothes by any means but nice casual is definitely acceptable. Our view was of the kitchen and everyone (chefs and wait staff alike) were bustling all night long. Our drinks were never empty and everyone was kind and had a smile on their face.

Now on to the important stuff - the menu. They have options for truly every kind of pasta enthusiast but the best move is to get two different pastas and split. We also got the octopus bruschetta and Arancini - everything was fabulous and it was too much food but we thought we'd be doing the pasta a disservice to use it as left overs and heat it up the next day.

The best item in my option was the Cauliflower Gnocchi. I will be DREAMING about this dish until I go back. It's one of those things you can't get anywhere else - the most perfectly cooked gnocchi I've ever had (as fluffy as a cloud) paired with an incredible sauce of orange, chive, cauliflower, pepper, and who know what other magic. If you get one dish - GET THIS. The veal ragu paperdelle was also great - it was a perfect execution of everything you expect it to be : a comforting flavorful pasta whose noodles are so thin I don't understand how they didn't rip while making them. The octopus bruchetta and Arancini were also fabulous and definitely worth trying - but the pasta is truly the star of the show!